ZANU PF militants stormed a parliamentary committee meeting on a proposed human rights bill in Harare on Saturday (23rd July 2011), forcing legislators to call in the riot police."We had no option but to cancel the hearing. There was too much chaos. It's unbelievable," said Misheck Marava, who chairs the Thematic Committee on Human Rights in the House of Assembly. Some 300 Zanu PF supporters tried to force their way into the public hearing. "We cannot allow this to go ahead. Our colleagues who are outside have to come in," said one of the Zanu PF supporters before attacking Member of Parliament Robert Tshuma. "That man was not singing the national anthem. What kind of an MP (Member of Parliament) is he who can't sing our own song? Leave now," she said.
A similar hearing in the southern town of Masvingo was abandoned on Thursday after unrest blamed on militants of President Robert Mugabe’s party widely accused of rights violations.
A planned state human rights commission is only empowered to probe alleged abuses that occurred after the formation of a shaky power-sharing coalition in 2009 between Mugabe and the former opposition led by Tsvangirai. Killings, death threats, state-orchestrated political violence, torture and rape reached a peak surrounding disputed elections in 2008 that led to the coalition agreement brokered by regional leaders.
On Wednesday, police stopped a youth meeting scheduled to be addressed by U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe Charles A. Ray in Kwekwe and militants from Mugabe’s party overran that gathering. Rights groups say political intimidation has surged since Mugabe called for early elections to bring an end to the coalition. Ray protested afterward that “elements of the security sector and some political parties remain afraid of allowing a free exchange of ideas.”
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Bill is part of democratic reforms that Mugabe and his former opposition rivals agreed to in 2008 when they signed a power-sharing agreement. Zanu PF favours elections this year, but Tsvangirai insists key political reforms must first be implemented.
Rule of law serves as a check on abuses of private and government power, providing equal access to all citizens and a clearly defined procedure for formal justice. Well-written laws are a first step, but they must also be fairly and openly enforced by accessible and accountable institutions. Only when basic standards of fair treatment, independent and ethical law enforcement, and due process for all are met, is there rule of law.
Core Building Blocks of Rule of Law
1. Fair laws: The laws need to be clear, publicized, stable, and fair, and they must protect internationally recognized rights.
2. Accountable officials: The government and its officials and agents must be accountable under the law.
3. Due process: The process by which the laws are enacted, administered, and enforced needs to be universally accessible, fair, and efficient.
4. An independent judicial system: Laws need to be upheld, and access to justice provided, by competent, independent, and ethical judges, law enforcement officials, and attorneys or representatives, with adequate resources to perform their roles.
Rule of Law and Worker Rights
Worker rights are essential to democratic societies. Across the globe, people spend most of their waking hours at work. Along with providing justice in the workplace, worker rights empower people to exercise fundamental rights in their broader communities. Legal protections for workers on the job provide them with the ability to enjoy freedom of speech, assembly, and movement as well as other human and political rights.
Unions Build and Protect the Rule of Law
Unions have the capacity to advocate for protections against child labor and human trafficking, enforcement of occupational health and safety codes, wage and hour laws, and many other vital rights. Only unions can democratically and sustainably mobilize workers to defend their economic interests against exploitation in an increasingly competitive global economy.Stanley Mauro Jensen-Blogger